Recovery of packaged contents

ABSTRACT

A package opening apparatus and method to recover contents of packages of paper and other tearable materials wherein the packaging material is beaten and shredded in a separating container or zone, the contents of the package is passed through holes in the separating container or zone, and the packaging material is blown by a draft induced within the separating container or zone out through an outlet in the separating container or zone.

atent 1 Nelson 1 RECOVERY OF PACKAGED CONTENTS [75] Inventor: William B.Nelson, London, England [73] Assignee: Gunsons Sortex, Limited, London,

England [22] Filed: June 2, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 259,208

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 26, 1971 Great Britain54988/71 [52] US. Cl 241/19, 241/24, 241/55, 241/69, 241/152 A, 241/222,241/243 [51] Int. Cl. 1302c 13/08 [58] Field of Search 241/19, 24,55,69, 152 R, 241/152 A, 186 R, 186 A,186.2,186.4,189 R; 214/222, 243, 305

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,433,523 10/1922 Babcock241/152 R [11] 3,834,630 [4 1 Sept. 10, 1974 1,591,758 7/1926 Griffin241/55 1,608,183 11/1926 Quante 241/55 2,818,985 l/1958 lrmscher 214/3053,103,241 9/1963 Weigel 241/55 3,176,738 4/1965 Vissers 241/55 3,226,04512/1965 Shelton et a]. 241/186 R Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer,Jr. Assistant Examiner-Howard N. Goldberg Attorney, Agent, orFirm-McGarry & Waters ABSTRACT A package opening apparatus and method torecover contents of packages of paper and other tearable materialswherein the packaging material is beaten and shredded in a separatingcontainer or zone, the contents of the package is passed through holesin the separating container or zone, and the packaging mate rial isblown by a draft induced within the separating container or zone outthrough an outlet in the separating container or zone.

16 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDSEPIOIQN 3.884.630

SHEEI 1 0F 2 RECOVERY OF PACKAGED CONTENTS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a methodand apparatus for opening packages and separating the packaging materialfrom the contents of the packages.

In another of its aspects, the invention relates to a method andapparatus for opening packages whose packaging material is formed ofpaper or soft plastic material and separating the latter from the solidor liquid contents of the packages, such contents including, forexample, tea, flour, coffee, seeds, cereals, milk products, biscuits,sauces, sugar, cigarettes, and soup powder.

2. State of the Prior Art Packaged goods, such as food products andcigarettes, ocassionally are returned to the manufacturer because ofincorrect sealing, damage, or improper weight. In other instances, theshelf life of the packages has been exhausted before the goods arepurchased. It is desirable to recover the contents of the packages eventhough it may not be possible to offer the contents for resale.

Machines and methods have heretofore been developed for cutting packagesopen and separating the contents thereof from the packaging material.For example, Kanarek, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,602, discloses adepackaging method and apparatus in which the packages are passedthrough splitting rollers which open up the packages and then are passedto a tumbling basket wherein the open packages are tumbled to separatethe contents of the packages from the packaging material. The tumblingbasket is provided with a plurality of holes to permit the contents ofthe packages to pass therethrough to a container beneath the tumblingbasket thereby leaving the packaging material within the tumblingbasket. In one embodiment, the interior of the basket is provided with aplurality of directional vanes for urging the packaging material towardan open end of the tumbling basket.

Another separating apparatus is disclosed by Barber in U.S. Pat. No.3,596,842. The apparatus disclosed by Barber is primarily directed toseparating granular material such as coffee from packaging material. Thepackages in Barber are passed through meshing teeth to tear the walls ofthe packages and then are deposited onto an inclined vibrating screenwhich permits the granular material to pass therethrough while movingthe packaging material to the lower end thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, there is providedan apparatus for recovering the contents of closed packages of tearablepackaging material. The apparatus comprises a container having an inletthrough which the packages may pass and an outlet. At least a bottomportion of the container has openings therein of a size to permitpassage of the contents of the packages there through. Means in thecontainer cut open the packages to permit the contents thereof toseparate and pass through the openings in the container bottom portion.Draft inducing means are provided in the container for drawing the cutpackaging material out through the outlet so that the contents of thepackages can be quickly and continuously separated from the packagingmaterial.

In one embodiment of the invention, the cutting means includes outwardlyprojecting members mounted for rotation about an axis of the containerand inwardly projecting members, preferably stationary, which mesh withthe outwardly projecting members, such that when the outwardlyprojecting members r0- tate, the packaging material will be torn andbeaten between the outwardly and inwardly directed members for completeseparation of the packaging material from the contents.

The draft inducing means is preferably located at the outlet of thecontainer and is provided by a rotary member supporting the outwardlyprojecting cutting means, the rotary member being bent laterally nearthe outlet end to form a propeller blade.

Still further according to the invention, there is provided a method ofrecovering the contents from packages formed of tearable packagingmaterial, the method including the steps of feeding the packages to aseparating zone through an inlet opening having a bottom portion withopenings sized to permit passage of the contents therethrough, beatingthe packages within the separating zone to shred the packaging materialand thereby separate the packaging material from the contents thereof,passing the contents through the openings in a bottom portion of thecontainer and blowing air currents through the outlet of the separatingzone to carry the beaten and shredded packaging material through theoutlet. Preferably, the air currents are induced from within theseparating zone at the outlet end thereof, the air currents beinginduced simultaneously with the beatings and shredding of the packagingmaterial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of an apparatusaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of part of the apparatus shown in FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of part of the structure shown in FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view seen along lines 44 of FIG. ll.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to thedrawings, an apparatus for opening packages and separating the packagingmaterial from the contents of the packages comprises a frame 10 at thetop of which is mounted a hopper lll into which may be loaded packages(not shown) which are to be opened, such for example, as tea bags. Thehopper 11 may, if desired, be provided, as shown in FIG. 1, with a feedhood 112 which may be moved into and out of the position shown byphantom lines.

The packages supplied to the hopper 11 are, in operation, movedtherefrom and into a tubular container 13 by means of a feed screw 14which is formed to break open the packages. The feed screw I4 is mountedon a shaft 15 which is driven by a belt drive 16 from an electric motor17 through a pulley wheel l8 on the motor output and a pulley wheel 19on shaft 15. The frame It) can be provided, on opposite sides of theapparatus, with a removable door (not shown) for providing access to thefeed screw 14. The container 13 has a removable casing 21 at an upperportion providing access to the interior thereof, and a wire mesh orreticulated bottom portion 20. The container 13, which has an inlet 22communicating with the feed screw 14 and an outlet 23 at axiallyopposite ends thereof, has a rotary cutter device 24 mounted therein.

The cutter device 24, which is rotatable in the counterclockwisedirection indicated by arrow 25 as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 4, comprises arotatable shaft 26 which is driven by electric motor 17 through pulleywheel 27, belt 28 and pulley wheel 29. The shaft 26 is co-axial with theshaft and rotates within the shaft 15. The sizes of the pulley wheels18, 19, 27 and 29 are selected so that the cutter device 24 rotates at amuch faster rate than the feed screw 14. Mounted on the shaft 26 are twoaxially spaced spider members 31, 32 each of which has fourequi-angularly spaced apart arms 33. The arms 33 carry axially extendingbars 34 each of which is provided with a plurality of axially spacedcutter members 35, the cutter members 35 being adapted to cooperate withfixed cutter members 36 carried by a pair of diametrically oppositelydisposed fixed bars 37. As the cutter device 24 rotates, the cuttermembers 35 carried thereby pass into close proximity with the fixedcutter members 36 in a manner like intermeshing teeth so as to beadapted to exercise a cutting action on the packages. The operation ofthe fixed and rotary cutting members operate to beat and shred thepackaging material and to beat the contents from the packagingmaterials.

Two of the bars 34 are provided, adjacent to the outlet 23, with acranked portion 40 which in operation functions as a blade and induces adraft. The cranked portion 40 operates as a small propeller blade todraw air up through the wire mesh bottom portion and out through theoutlet end 23 of the container, thereby carrying the packaging materialsout through said outlet end 23. Thus, as the rotarycutter device 24rotates, it acts to cut open the packages whose contents then fall out,while the draft induced by the cranked portions 40 blows the packagingmaterial out through the outlet 23. The said contents of the packagespass under gravity through the openings in the bottom portion 20 of thecontainer 13, the said openings being made of a size to permit thepassage of the said contents therethrough.

The tea, or other contents of the packages, which has passed through theholes in the container 13 pass through a chute 41 and a bellows member42, e.g., of textile material, so that they may be collected in areceptacle 46 disposed beneath the bellows 42.

The packaging material blown out by the draft passes through a chute 43so as to fall into a portable receptacle 44 having castors or wheels.The receptacle 44 may, as shown, have a wire mesh grid 45 within it sothat if the contents of the packages are liquid, the liquid left on thepackaging material may drain into the lower part of the receptacle 44.

An adjustable end plate 47 is positioned at the outlet 23 of thecontainer 13 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The end plate 47 is mounted forvertical sliding motion on guides 48. A vertical elongated slot 49 isformed in a 6 central portion of the end plate 46. An ad usting thumbscrew 50 is mounted on a fixed bracket 57 on frame 10 and extendsthrough the elongated slot 49. A bolt (not shown) behind plate 47threadably engages the thumb screw 50 in conventional fashion to lockthe plate in various adjusted positions.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the plate 47 is adjustable to partially coverthe outlet 23 of the container 13. The degree of draft passing from theend of the container 13 is controlled by plate 47. The farther down theplate 47, the less the draft out through the end of the container 13.The degree of draft or velocity of air passing through the end of thecontainer 13 relates to the amount of material passing into the chute43. The draft is thus controlled by the plate 47 in order to control theamount of material passing into the chute 43. By-this adjustable plate,the apparatus is adjustable to accomodate different products which mayhave different densities.

The apparatus described above both cuts open the packages and separatesthe packaging material from the contents of the packages by passingthese along different paths, the apparatus being, for example, such thatthe great majority of the packaged commodity may be retrieved.

The speed of rotation of the rotary cutting device 24 is much greaterthan that of the feed screw 14. The rotary cutter device rotates at aspeed so that the packages will be rapidly beaten and shredded betweenthe rotating cutting members 35 and the fixed cutting teeth 36. Thisbeating and shredding operation beats the contents of the packagessubstantially completely from the packaging material. At the same time,the cranked portions 40 form blades to induce a slight draft upwardlythrough the wire mesh bottom portion 20 of the tubular container 13 withthe draft passing out through the outlet end 23 thereof. This draftlifts and carries the lighter packaging material through the outlet 23of the container 13 and down the chute 43. The amount of draft can becontrolled as described above, by raising or lowering the end plate 47.Lowering the end plate will decrease the draft and raising the end plate47 will increase the draft.

Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope ofthe foregoing disclosure, drawings and appended claims without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

1 claim:

1. An apparatus for recovering the contents of packages of a tearablepackaging material, said apparatus comprising:

a container having an inlet through which said packages may pass and anoutlet through which airborne materials may pass, said container havingopenings therein to permit passage of said contents therethrough;

means in said container for tearing and beating said packaging materialsto separate said contents from said packaging material; and

draft inducing means for rendering said packaging materials airborne andfor causing said airborne packaging material to pass out through saidoutlet while the contents pass through the openings in said container,whereby said contents are quickly and effectively separated from saidpackaging material in a air separation process.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said tearing and beatingmeans includes outwardly projecting members mounted for rotation aboutan axis of said container, inwardly projecting members which mesh withsaid outwardly projecting members, and means for rotating said outwardlyprojecting members, whereby said packages are beaten and shredded bysaid tearing means while said contents are beaten from said packagingmaterial.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 and further comprising axiallydisposed elongated bars mounting said outwardly projecting means, andsaid draft inducing means are formed on said elongated bars.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said container is fixedwith respect to said draft inducing means.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3 and further including means forfeeding said packages to said inlet, said feeding means including meansfor breaking open said packages.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said draft inducing meansincludes an axially disposed blade, means mounting said blade in saidcontainer for rotational movement about an axis of said container; andmeans for rotating said blade about said axis whereby draft is inducedwithin said container.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said blade includes an endportion near said outlet, and said end portion is bent laterally forinducing said draft.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 and further including means forfeeding said packages to said inlet, said feeding means including meansfor breaking open said packages.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said container is tubularshaped and said inlet and outlet are at axially opposite ends of saidcontainer.

10. An apparatus for recovering the contents from closed packages oftearable packaging material, said apparatus comprising:

a container having an inlet through which said packages may pass, and anoutlet through which airborne particles may pass, at least a bottomportion of said container having openings therein of a size to permitpassage of said contents therethrough;

means for beating and shredding said packaging material within saidcontainer to beat said contents from said packaging material and toshred said packaging material;

means for removing said contents from a bottom portion of said containerthrough said openings therein; and

means for rendering said shredded and beaten packaging material airborneand for blowing said beaten and shredded airborne packaging materialthrough said outlet of said container, thereby effecting an airseparation of said contents from said beaten and shredded packagingmaterial.

ll. A method for recovering the contents from packages of tearablepackaging material, said method comprising the steps of:

feeding said packages to a separating zonc through an inlet openingthereof, said separating zone having a bottom portion with openingssized to permit passage of said contents therethrough;

beating said packages within said separating zone to shred saidpackaging material and toseparate said packaging material from saidcontents; passing said contents through said openings in said bottomportion of said separating zone; and

blowing air currents through said separating zone and through an outletopening thereof to carry said beaten and shredded packaging materialsthrough said outlet opening of said separating zone, thereby separatingsaid packaging material from said contents.

]l2. A method according to claim 11 wherein said packages are firstsplit open before being passed to said separating zone.

13. A method according to claim 11 wherein said packaging material isbeaten and shredded by passing said packaging material between meshingteeth.

14. A method according to claim 13 wherein one set of said meshing teethis stationary with respect to the other.

15. An method according to claim 11 wherein said air currents areinduced from within said separating zone at said outlet opening thereof.

16. A method according to claim 15 wherein said air currents are inducedsimultaneously with the beating and shredding of said packagingmaterial.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said tearing and beatingmeans includes outwardly projecting members mounted for rotation aboutan axis of said container, inwardly projecting members which mesh withsaid outwardly projecting members, and means for rotating said outwardlyprojecting members, whereby said packages are beaten and shredded bysaid tearing means while said contents are beaten from said packagingmaterial.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 2 and further comprisingaxially disposed elongated bars mounting said outwardly projectingmeans, and said draft inducing means are formed on said elongated bars.4. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said container is fixedwith respect to said draft inducing means.
 5. An apparatus according toclaim 3 and further including means for feeding said packages to saidinlet, said feeding means including means for breaking open saidpackages.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said draftinducing means includes an axially disposed blade, means mounting saidblade in said container for rotational movement about an axis of saidcontainer; and means for rotating said blade about said axis wherebydraft is induced within said container.
 7. An apparatus according toclaim 6 wherein said blade includes an end portion near said outlet, andsaid end portion is bent laterally for inducing said draft.
 8. Anapparatus according to claim 7 and further including means for feedingsaid packages to said inlet, said feeding means including means forbreaking open said packages.
 9. An apparatus according to claim 7wherein said container is tubular shaped and said inlet and outlet areat axially opposite ends of said container.
 10. An apparatus forrecovering the contents from closed packages of tearable packagingmaterial, said apparatus comprising: a container having an inlet throughwhich said packages may pass, and an outlet through which airborneparticles may pass, at least a bottom portion of said container havingopenings Therein of a size to permit passage of said contentstherethrough; means for beating and shredding said packaging materialwithin said container to beat said contents from said packaging materialand to shred said packaging material; means for removing said contentsfrom a bottom portion of said container through said openings therein;and means for rendering said shredded and beaten packaging materialairborne and for blowing said beaten and shredded airborne packagingmaterial through said outlet of said container, thereby effecting an airseparation of said contents from said beaten and shredded packagingmaterial.
 11. A method for recovering the contents from packages oftearable packaging material, said method comprising the steps of:feeding said packages to a separating zone through an inlet openingthereof, said separating zone having a bottom portion with openingssized to permit passage of said contents therethrough; beating saidpackages within said separating zone to shred said packaging materialand to separate said packaging material from said contents; passing saidcontents through said openings in said bottom portion of said separatingzone; and blowing air currents through said separating zone and throughan outlet opening thereof to carry said beaten and shredded packagingmaterials through said outlet opening of said separating zone, therebyseparating said packaging material from said contents.
 12. A methodaccording to claim 11 wherein said packages are first split open beforebeing passed to said separating zone.
 13. A method according to claim 11wherein said packaging material is beaten and shredded by passing saidpackaging material between meshing teeth.
 14. A method according toclaim 13 wherein one set of said meshing teeth is stationary withrespect to the other.
 15. An method according to claim 11 wherein saidair currents are induced from within said separating zone at said outletopening thereof.
 16. A method according to claim 15 wherein said aircurrents are induced simultaneously with the beating and shredding ofsaid packaging material.